Voter Fraud Allegations: Pune Lawyer's Viral Selfie Ignites Political Storm in Bihar Elections

Pune:

A new controversy has erupted in the wake of Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations about "vote theft." A viral photo of a Pune-based lawyer displaying an inked finger during Bihar's Phase 1 elections has intensified Congress's claims that BJP is manipulating votes to win elections across India.

This incident marks the second example Congress workers are highlighting to support their accusations, following the case of a Brazilian woman's photo appearing in Haryana's voter list.

Urrmi, a lawyer from Pune, shared a selfie showing her finger marked with indelible ink, widely recognized as proof of voting. Her caption stated: "Voted for a Modi-fied India. Jaai ke Vote daali, Bihar."

Congress supporters quickly uncovered previous photos of her voting in Pune and alleged this demonstrated how voters from one state could cast ballots in another.

On Thursday, Gandhi made comparable allegations regarding the Haryana elections, suggesting that one woman with multiple identities had voted at ten different polling stations. Congress workers widely circulated the lawyer's photo as evidence supporting these claims.

Congress social media coordinator Reshma Alam commented: "Multi-state voting is the new startup. Investor: BJP. Product: Fake mandate." Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil sarcastically posted: "I will vote in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha. I will vote in Bihar in the Vidhan Sabha. I will steal votes for Modi."

The Congress party's allies in Bihar also joined in criticizing the government.

RJD spokesperson Priyanka Bharti remarked: "In 2024, madam voted in Maharashtra, and in 2025, she voted in Bihar. She openly wrote she wants to build 'Modi's' India. They have sold off all their shame and modesty! Just look at their arrogance. When you ask them anything, madam will say, 'The system is ours!' The whole system runs for the BJP folks like earthworms."

Urrmi later clarified that her post was merely intended to encourage voter participation in Bihar, not to claim she had voted there. "This was just for motivation. I never said I voted *today*. I said I voted. And everyone knows it was in Maharashtra. So, calm down! Motivated enough? Now your turn, Bihar. Go vote," she explained.

Earlier, a photo of a Brazilian woman went viral after Rahul Gandhi claimed it appeared in 22 entries on the Haryana voter list. The image was later identified as belonging to Larissa Nery, a hairdresser who had posed for a photographer friend eight years ago, unaware her picture would become central to a major political controversy in a distant country.

In an interview with NDTV, Nery expressed that she initially thought it was a "bad joke" but became frightened when she understood the situation's gravity.

"Initially, I thought it was funny when I saw the video with my picture in the background. But when I understood what was happening, I got scared. Now I don't know what to do because I'm unsure of what people are doing with my image. I just can't understand these memes they are making with my photo, as I don't know the language," Larissa told NDTV.

The photograph is readily available for free download from stock photography websites including Unsplash and Pexels.